Temperate phage-antibiotic synergy is widespread—extending to <i>Pseudomonas</i> —but varies by phage, host strain, and antibiotic pairing

Abstract

The recent discovery that otherwise therapeutically unusable temperate phages can potentiate the activity of antibiotics, resulting in a potent synergy, has only been tested in <i>E. coli</i>, and with a single model phage. Here, working with clinical isolates of <i>Pseudomonas</i> and phages from these isolates, we highlight the broad applicability of this synergy-across a variety of mechanisms but also highlight the limitations of predicting the phage, host, and antibiotic combinations that will synergize.